163. Johnny Cash, 'Folsom Prison Blues'

Cash first recorded "Folsom Prison Blues," one of his earliest songs, for Sun in 1956. But it was the thrilling, electric '68 version, live at the prison, that defined his outlaw persona. Cash said he wrote the line "I shot a man in Reno/Just to watch him die," while "trying to think of the worst reason . . . for killing another person." He added, "It did come to mind quite easily, though."